The Imperial Orchestra and the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority sponsor the weekly event from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each Monday from October through March.

LAKELAND Today is the last opportunity this season to start out the work week with Music Munndays, a lunchtime concert in downtown Lakelands Munn Park.

The Imperial Orchestra and the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority sponsor the weekly event from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each Monday from October through March.

Todays concert will be by Motett with Lemay Olano-James. Motett is a jazz trio featuring Davis Collister on bass, Jody Marsh on keys and Jean Bolduc on drums.Olano-James is a violinist.

Expect to hear some swing, foxtrot, rhumba and mambo.

The original ideain October 2015 was to provide a break for downtown office workers, said Julie Townsend, executive director of the Downtown Lakeland Development Authority.

Mondays kind of bum people out," she said. "This way they can start their work week out with a relaxing time in the park.

And it has been a way to promote the park, she said.

Instead of rushing by on their way to and from lunch, people can stop at the park with a blanket or sit on one of the benches and relax, listen to music and play board games or fill out one of the adult coloring pages available at a tent on the Kentucky Avenue side of the park, she said.

Over timethe office crowd morphed into more of a community crowd, Townsend said. Retirees and young parents with toddlers come from home for the free concert, bringing lawn chairs or blankets and lunch, Townsend said.

And sometimes school groups or community groups make a field trip out of it, she said.

The Imperial Orchestra arranges the musical entertainment, Townsend said.

As examples of the type of entertainment the Monday crowds hear, Imperial Orchestras Facebook page lists the entertainment for the month of March as an ISO Brass Quintet, Acoustic Dose (acoustic guitar and vocals), Jazzanovoa (Latin-influenced instrumentals) and todays entertainment by Motett with Lemay Olano-James (jazz with electric violin).

We try to mix it up, to expose people to different types of music, Townsend said. It is just a good time -- just a couple of hours over lunch to hang out, have a good time playing board games and relaxing with coloring while getting exposed to something you may not normally listen to.

Marilyn Meyer can be reached at marilyn.meyer@theledger.com or 863-802-7558. Follow her on Twitter @marilyn_ledger.

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Music Munndays is wrapping up the season with 1 last concert ... - News Chief